Scoopy, Week of August 16, 2012

THE MOSAIC TRAIL…: Mosaics are hot right now — from the new sign at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, on Avenue C, to the new mosaic murals at the East Village’s Sirovich Senior Center, on E. 12th St. As usual, Jim Power, the East Village’s “Mosaic Man,” is working away on a bevy of local mosaic projects, including one at 47 E. Third St., above. This one, with a geometric pattern, was designed by Alistair Economakis, the building’s owner, who was inspired by Power’s mosaics for the new Bean coffee shop down the block. It was made using ancient bathroom floor tiles recycled from when Economakis gut-rehabbed the old five-story building (that is, after he had cleared out rent-regulated tenants from the place’s then-15 apartments after a lengthy and bitter landlord-tenant struggle). Laurie Mittelmann, MoRUS’s co-director, said Power told her Economakis paid him well — double the commission price they had agreed to. Economakis plans to rent the basement commercial space beneath the mural to a medical tenant. Meanwhile, Steve Sinclair, president of the recently resuscitated Progress Republican Club, tells us Economakis attended one of the club’s weekly meetings, held by the fountain in the backyard of Sinclair’s posh place on E. Ninth St. Sinclair said he actually doesn’t know whether Economakis is a registered Republican or not. As for Power, we hear he unfortunately got booted out of his basement studio that a barbershop at Fifth St. and Second Ave. was letting him use, and where he — and his loyal canine sidekick, Jesse Jane — actually usually crashed. It sounded like they were also facing eviction from The Lee, the supportive housing residence on E. Houston St. run by Common Ground, where Power had earned a rep as a bit of a whistle-blower. But Matt Rosen, who helps Power run his online business, said the “Mosaic Man” smoothed everything out. “He’s met with the management, and they’ve addressed some of his issues,” Rosen said. “It was not a great situation before, but things have quieted down a bit.”

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6 Responses to Scoopy, Week of August 16, 2012

Once again, The Villager fawns over the Economakises and their mansion, which, by the way, is no longer owned by them as individuals but by a Delaware based LLC. This LLC then took out a new mortgage on an apartment building, not a single family residence, and the Economakises list their Brooklyn home address as their residence on the documents. Don't count on The Villager to look into this, they're too busy disparaging the tenants who were evicted while they continue their love-fest with Alistair.

If it is your home, why do you need it to be owned by a corporation? And, why is their Brooklyn home address on all of the douments, not east 3rd street? They only the put the building in their individual names in the first place because an LLC can't claim owner occupancy. Also, many landlords in the city own their buildings as individual owners, not corporations.

OMG – what a great idea for mosaic. Love it. Can the friggin tenants get a life (directed to 1st comment)- what do they complain about twhen hey all got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, were not evicted and the owner followed the law. enough wining and get on with life. Scoopy is doing a great job.

Jim Powers is doing great artwork in the East Village. I love his work. He is a very talented man. His designs are much better than the Economakis design which is kind of uninspired and boring. I am so glad Economakis paid him some more, Jim can certainly use the money. Sadly Economakis wasn't so generous with a former nanny whom he stiffed out of overtime. She took him to court but eventually settled.
See Case 1:08-cv-04812-PKC in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for more information.
Economakis installed six buzzers at the mansion. Wouldn't one be enough for a supposedly one family home? Interestingly, the building is still registered with HPD as a 15 unit apartment building. It seems one has to pay less taxes if one owns a multiple dwelling or registers it as such.
As to the LLC, Delaware does not disclose the members of an LLC, so we'll never know who really owns the building since it was sold in April to the Alicat Family LLC.
Could it be that Lincoln Anderson was not really given a tour of the mansion, but instead taken for a ride???